


Fallen

by MissFrostFire



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M, Nightmares, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-09-21 21:42:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9567995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissFrostFire/pseuds/MissFrostFire
Summary: When you’re on the verge to lose someone you care about, what do you do about it? Do you try to spend the remaining days, hours and minutes with them? Or do you continue walking on the path you’ve chosen?This story takes place after Sasuke has defeated Itachi and Tobi isn't the person we know him to be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old story which I have decided to upload on here because it isn't half bad. It's also one of the few I got which takes place in the Naruto universe.

A teenage boy ran through the woods, easily dodging his enemy’s attacks. He came to stop by a branch as he turned and threw a kunai at them. They blocked his attack before throwing a shuriken but missed as he went to dodge it.

 _'Where the hell is Sai?'_   he wondered and dodged another shuriken that came his way.

The boy was starting to get irritated for his teammate to make an appearance. Dodging another kunai he made a quick decision as he went to the side behind a tree. He quickly created three clones; sending out two of them to distract the enemy as he began to form the rasengan with the other.

“You’re mine now!” he heard a voice exclaim to his front. His clone disappeared in a puff of white smoke and he thrust his arm out as it came in contact with a body. A sharp pain inflicted on his arm before there was a loud crash, indicating that he had won.

The boy didn’t feel happy though that he’d taken down the enemy. He sighed and then looked up at the blue sky, wondering where a certain person could be.

A sound of people arriving brought him back from his musings and he turned to see his two teammates standing there.

“Naruto! Are you alright?” asked the pinkette as she ran up to him looking concerned.

The blond forced himself to smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Sakura sighed in relief. Her eyes then studied him and soon caught sight of the wound on his arm. Her expression changed to one of annoyance in a matter of seconds.

“No you’re not! You’re hurt.” Without another word she grabbed his wrist and placed a hand on the cut, beginning to heal it. It shortly closed up and she removed her hand to take a final look before letting go.

“Thank you Sakura-chan,” Naruto said and smiled, sincerely this time.

She looked up to glare at him for a moment before letting out another sigh. “You’re welcome,” she said shortly and then turned to have a look at the enemy who was laying motionless on the ground.

A few hours of gathering the people up later, they left for Konoha with the help of their team leader Yamato.

“Great job guys! I’ll go and report to the Hokage of the successful mission,” the brunet said. “Tell you what? You should take a few days off and relax a little.” He received two smiling teenagers while the other one looked at him with a mask of indifference. And with that he disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

Naruto turned around once the smoke had faded, preparing himself to leave. Before he could take another step though, someone grabbed his arm. He turned around only to look into the smiling face of Sakura.

“What?”

“Where are you going?”

“Home,” he said as if it were obvious.

“What’s happened to you Naruto?” she said, concern lacing her voice. “You used to be all sunshine and light, and now you’re so... withdrawn.”

The blond looked at the pinkette and then at his other teammate who nodded in agreement. He sighed. Of course they would notice sooner or later that something was wrong.

“I’m fine,” he said with a fake smile. “I just… I’m going through a tough time is all.”

“What?” she asked. “What is it?”

He avoided her gaze.

“You know you can tell us, whatever it may be.”

Naruto looked at the sincere faces of his two teammates, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell them. “I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but this isn’t something you can help with. I must figure this out for myself.” And without another word he turned and walked off.

Sakura was about to follow but was stopped by Sai. “Give him some time.”

She looked down at the ground briefly before nodding in agreement.

...

Naruto shortly arrived at his apartment. He closed the door and locked it before removing his headband, shoes and jacket. He was tired and just wanted to go sleep. He almost didn’t notice the mess inside his bedroom as he went to the bed to lie down. He crawled under the covers, not caring that he was still wearing clothing as he shortly fell asleep.

* * *

It was dark. Dark and cold.

The wind rushed by his ears and he could hear the sound of rustling leaves from somewhere in the distance. Even though he was alone, he didn’t feel lonely. And even though it was cold, he wasn’t freezing. He just felt numb and devoid of all emotions. There was simply nothing.

Another rush of wind came, this one bringing the sounds of screams and the smell of death. A chill ran down his spine and he brought his hands to cover his ears, trying to block it all out. But it was all to no avail. The smell of blood rushed into his nostrils and the screaming of people he knew didn’t subside.

“Make it stop…” he mumbled. “Please... make it stop.”

It didn’t stop though, it just continued until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“MAKE IT STOP!”

Everything went silent – save for the erratic breathing coming from Naruto.

“…to…”

He looked up, his hands leaving his head. There was a voice in the distance.

“…ruto…”

That voice. He recognized it. But who? Who was calling him?

He looked up and waited for the voice to come again. When it didn’t, he decided to walk and see if he came across the person the voice belonged to.

Naruto didn’t know for how long he walked. It could’ve been minutes or maybe even hours. The place didn’t change no matter how much he twisted and turned his body. It was still as dark and cold as it had been before. He couldn’t even see if he was walking on solid ground, that’s how dark it was. However, he could see when he brought his hand up to his face along with his feet that were planted on the unseeing ground. But besides that there was nothing but darkness.

The blond sighed, feeling a bit frustrated. He didn’t like this place, it gave him the creeps and the screaming he’d heard earlier may have gone quiet, but he could still hear it. It was carved into his brain, echoing on the walls of his mind.

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thoughts as he continued onwards. That’s when he heard the voice again.

“…ruto…”

It was very faint. Almost like a whisper.

“Who’s there?” he asked.

Naruto received no response and that made him even more frustrated. He clenched his hands into fists as he scowled at the darkness. He was about to turn and walk back the direction he came from (or think he came from) when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

He went to turn around but found himself to be rotted on the spot. He felt the warm breath of another person ghosting over his neck, making him shiver.

“Naruto.”

Blue eyes widened as he now recognized the voice.

 _'No. It can’t be him,'_ he told himself.

The voice had spoken to him in a gentle way. And _he_ would never speak to him like that. Never.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts as he felt the person move closer to him. Soon he was pressed flushed against the solid, warm body of the other, making him shiver yet again. He swallowed and licked his dry lips unconsciously as he felt hands rub at his arms. He still couldn’t move so he decided to just feel. The hands went down to his wrists, loosely holding them for a moment before they let go and then traveled back up again. The strokes were gentle, but also firm as they repeated the action over and over again.

Then the hands began to explore more of his body. They went up to his shoulders to massage them a little before running them down his back, nails being drawn over his fabric covered skin. The hands then went to touch his abdomen and travel up and over his chest. He almost moaned when the hands passed over his half-hard nipples, but managed to keep it in by biting his bottom lip. The hands continued to move up and down slowly, caressing almost as the blond desperately tried not to make a sound.

Then all of a sudden one of the hands traveled down lower to where his growing erection was straining against his pants. The hand stroked the bulge making Naruto suck in a deep breath as he tried to calm down. The hand kept teasing him like that a few times before it went to unbutton his pants and pull the zipper down. The hand didn’t hesitate as it went under the two layers of fabric and grabbed his cock.

The blond couldn’t help but let out a gasp at the contact and when the hand began to stroke him, he forgot about everything else because it just felt _so_ _good_. He writhed beneath the other’s touch, willing himself not to moan as he bit his lip until it started to bleed. The red liquid ran down his chin as beads of sweat gathered on his burning skin. The other hand that had been holding him in place came up to stroke his cheek and then put it over his eyes before turning his head around.

Naruto felt something soft press itself against his lips and his eyes widened. He went to pull away, but the person had a firm grip on his head as they opened their mouth and ran a wet tongue over his lips, seeking entrance. Without much thought he let them in and along with it let his voice go.

It didn’t take very long until he could feel his release coming closer and closer until it had arrived. His whole body tensed up as semen spurt out of the tip of his cock, covering the hand that was still holding him and his abdomen. His body shook as he rode out the rest of his orgasm. His legs felt weak and he was about to fall but strong arms gripped him before he could.

When his breathing was back and he felt his strength returning to his limbs he went to stand by himself. The hands that were wrapped around his middle let go, instead going up and lightly touching his shoulders.

Naruto opened his eyes that he had closed when he came. He went to turn around to look at whoever had brought him over the edge. His eyes widened as he was blasted with different emotions.

It took him a little while to gather his wits. When he did he spoke only one word, or rather a name.

“Sasuke?”

The raven-haired teenage boy whose eyes were as dark as the darkness surrounding them and skin so pale it was almost translucent was no doubt his friend Uchiha Sasuke. Said raven smiled a little in acknowledgment and the blond shortly followed with a smile of his own. It was wiped away in an instant though when a sharp pain erupted from his chest.

He slowly looked down, blue eyes widening at the pale arm he found there. He distinctively could make out the familiar noise of chidori from behind him as he made to look back up at the other. The raven’s expression had changed, instead of smiling with true joy shinning in his eyes there was nothing. He seemed devoid of any emotion.

“Why?” whispered Naruto. He’d been so happy to see his friend. So happy that he might’ve cried- Now tears prickled behind his eyes for a different reason entirely as he continued to stare at the other.

“Because I hate you.” Sasuke then pulled out of the other, seemingly unfazed when the blond dropped to the ground as blood gushed out of the wound he had caused.

Naruto looked up and watched as the raven turned to walk away.

 _'Wait...'_   He didn't want the other to leave, not when he'd been so close. He tried to stand up, but dizziness struck him as his vision began to blur.

 _'Wait.'_ The sight of his friend was slowly fading away from his view.

He stretched his hand out and yelled as loud as he possibly could to the other, putting as much emotion to the word as he could. “Wait!”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto shot off the bed, his eyes wide and body drenched in sweat. He looked around the place frantically for the raven but came to notice that he was in his bedroom.

He turned to look out the window; the sun was only just coming up on the horizon. He lay back down and buried his face in his hands, letting out a groan.

Why was he having these kinds of dreams? And what did they even mean?

As he pondered over why this was happening to him a deep, almost growling voice interrupted his thoughts.

_“ **What’s wrong, Naruto?”**_

Said blond sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was standing in a large room and in front of him was the kyuubi, Kurama. The red eyes of the beast were looking straight at him. He could see slight concern shining in the crimson orbs of the large kitsune.

“I had a bad dream, again.”

The kyuubi looked at the boy for a moment longer before it stretched out a paw to him.

Naruto didn’t hesitate as he climbed into the furry palm of the large fox, a wash of Kurama’s chakra making him relax.

“ **Would you like to share?”** the kyuubi said as it sat down, making itself comfortable in the big, dark room.

The blond nodded and then told him about the dream.

From the numbness he had felt, to the screams he had heard, and smell of death he had smelled. He also told him that Sasuke had suddenly appeared and were not ashamed to talk about what had been going on. He ended the explanation with waking up in his bed. Now, he was waiting for the other’s reaction.

The kyuubi seemed to be deep in thought. It took a while before he finally said anything.

“ **The best advice I can give you is not to think too much of what these dreams actually mean. They can mean something, or nothing at all. But I think it would be better if you don't linger on them. Lingering is not going to make them go away.”**

The blond listened intently; hanging onto Kurama’s every word. He knew that his friend was right, lingering on it would not make it go away. But it was difficult to not think about something that occurred so often.

“ **I would also suggest you don't shut yourself out to people that care about you. Doing that will only make them worry and eventually demand what is wrong. If you don't want them to worry, then don't give them a reason to.”**

Naruto grimaced at that. He had been shutting himself out from his friends and teachers. Recently he couldn't really bring himself to be happy anymore. Even though the village was finally seeing him for the person he was and not what was sealed inside of him, he still had days where he couldn't bring himself to care, or even smile. But Kurama was right, he couldn't keep on doing this. It wasn't healthy and it would just make others worry over him, something he really didn't want.

He eventually nodded and thanked his furry friend.

The kyuubi gave the boy a smile. **“You're welcome. Remember, if you need me at any time, I'm here.”**

Naruto and Kurama spoke for a bit longer until a knock disturbed their talk. The blond said goodbye to his furry friend and closed his eyes only to reopen them a few seconds later. He got out of bed and padded over to his front door.

“Good morning Naruto,” were the first words to greet him when he opened the door.

“Good morning Sakura-chan,” greeted the blond back with a strained smile.

“I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to the library. I need to pick up some books for healing. We can pass by Ichiraku if you want to as well.”

He was about to decline but then remembered what Kurama and he had discussed earlier. He just nodded and said, “Sure. I could use some ramen right now. Just let me clean up and get changed, okay?”

A couple of minutes later the pair were walking side by side. The blonde's hands were buried his pants pockets and he was watching the path with a bored expression.

The silence was disrupted by a question from Sakura. “You look tired. Have you slept at all?”

Naruto halted in his step, his mind going back to the dream. The darkness, the screams, the smell of blood, the pleasure, Sasuke...

He shook his head, trying to block it all out and turned to Sakura. Thinking that a relatively honest answer was good now. “I went to bed as soon as I got home and woke up to a nightmare hours later.”

He didn't supply what the nightmare was about and his friend didn't ask.

The pair were greeted by Teuchi and Ayame with a cheerful “good morning” that the two returned. They sat down and ordered before either tried to talk.

Sakura was of course the first to break the silence, with a question the other didn't want to answer. “What was the nightmare about?”

The blond bristled at the question. He had no idea how to answer that question. But if he didn't answer then the pinkette would just worry more. He settled for something that was the half-truth.

“Sasuke.” That immediately drew a somber look out of the other and she didn't question him further as their food arrived.

It was silent between the two for a very long time that neither knew how to break. They finished their ramen and went to the library. And once there they split up.

Sakura went to look at some books on healing while Naruto just browsed around, looking at different ones. His eyes then fell on a book about dreams. Curious about the different meanings of certain dreams he pulled it out of the shelf and went to sit down at an empty table. He opened the book as he scanned the pages of the different things with the different meanings. It truly was fascinating and he stopped to read a few sections on certain things.

Agony: “To dream that you are in agony suggests that some decision or nagging problem from your waking life has crept into your dream. It will continue to torment you until it is resolved.”

Well, that didn't sound depressing at all. Most of the problems he had mostly involved one person. And said person wasn't exactly reachable.

Alone: “To dream that you are alone indicates feelings of rejection. You may be feeling that no one understand you.”

That sounded so true it kind of hurt, but it wasn't enough to make him stop reading.

Depression: “To feel depressed in your dream refers to your inability to make connections. You are unable to see the causes of your problems and consequences of your decisions. People who are depressed in their waking life often have dreams about being depressed. Pay attention to what is depressing you in your dream and see how it relates to your waking life.”

Killing: “To dream that you kill someone indicates that you are on the verge of losing your temper and self-control. Consider the person you have killed and ask yourself if you feel any rage towards her or him in your waking life. Your dream may be expressing some hidden anger. Alternatively, you may be trying to kill an aspect of yourself that is represented by the person killed. Identify the characteristics of this person and ask yourself which of these qualities you are trying to put an end to.

“To dream that you have been killed suggests that your actions are disconnected from your emotions and conscience. The dream refers to drastic changes that you are trying to make. There is a characteristic that you want to get rid of or a habit that you want to end within yourself. Killing represents the killing off of the old parts and old habits. Alternatively, the dream represents feelings of being let down or betrayed by someone in your waking life. You are feeling overwhelmed, shocked and disappointed.”

“Found anything interesting?”

Naruto looked up at Sakura who was smiling down at him. He closed the book, not wanting her to see what page he'd been reading on, much less about.

“Do you have your books?” he asked.

She nodded and put the books down on the table before sitting down opposite of him. “So, what are you reading?”

“It's a book about dreams. It basically tells you the meaning of them.”

“Really? Can I see?”

Naruto nodded and handed the book over to her. He watched her friend flipping through the pages and reading a little until she was satisfied.

“It's really interesting. I didn't know there were so many different meanings to dreams.”

“Me either.”

The rest of the day was spent in laughter inside the library. The two friends eventually left the place with their books and parted ways to go home. Naruto spent the rest of his day reading, not moving from his spot unless it was to eat or go to the bathroom.

Night eventually came though and as the moon was taking its place on the dark sky did the blond put away the book and turn in.

* * *

He shot up out of the bed. His whole body was drenched in sweat and his breathing was coming out in short, erratic pants. He swallowed and took deep breaths until he felt himself calm down.

That's the fourth time he's had that dream. The darkness surrounding him, the screaming, the smell of death, and the pleasure he keeps on receiving from the one person he loves.

Naruto wrapped his arms around his torso. He could still feel the cold but gentle touches of the other. It scared him yet made him feel strangely calm inside.

He went to run his fingers through his hair that was damp with sweat. He just wanted these dreams to stop. Why couldn't they just stop?

It had been almost two weeks since the first time he's had that dream. Was it there to haunt him? Or was it there for a reason unknown? He had asked Kurama if they knew, but the giant kitsune had just shook its head. It was frustrating really, and it didn't help him at all.

The nightmares were not the only thing on his mind though. He'd noticed that the last couple of days he's been feeling more drained than usual when after using chakra. He had tried to sleep it off but when he woke up he'd still feel tired, even though he should've slept more than enough.

He didn't know why it was happening and had many times contemplated whenever he should go to the hospital, but has immediately decided against it for two reasons.

One, he hated hospitals. The smell of it and the sight of other people that's been hurt or have a certain disease.

And two, if something really was wrong with him then he would no doubt be stuck there for a while.

So, he decided not to go and figure out himself what could be wrong. But seeing as both him and Kurama was at a lost, maybe he should go.

Naruto shook his head and got out off the bed. No use in thinking about those types of things. Especially when he needed to leave soon to go on a mission.

It was a B-rank mission that he was going to go to together with his two teammates Sai and Sakura as well as Team Guy.

They were suppose to protect a group of merchants that were traveling from Konoha to Suna. And while there, Naruto had decided to say hello to Gaara. See how the redhead is doing and such.

He grabbed his filled up backpack, zipped up his jacket and fastened his headband before leaving the apartment.

* * *

In a forest there sat six shinobi, taking a rest from the battle that had occurred. The people they were supposed to protect were resting alongside them, sometimes asking questions how it was like to be a shinobi.

The only one who wasn't resting was Hyuuga Neji. He was instead looking around with an air of alertness with his Byakugan.

“See anything?”

The brunet turned to glance at Naruto who was facing the front too. He noticed something strange with the way the blonde's chakra was acting. It seemed... faint. Weak. Like nothing was barely there. His chakra didn't flow like it was supposed to, or not as fast as it should. His chakra used to be like a waterfall, cascading throughout his body. Now though, it seemed to just dribble through his being.

“Neji?”

Said brunet quickly looked up and into blue. That's also when he noticed the dark circles under his eyes along with the tired and almost haunted look in his gaze that were trying to hide behind the look of concern he was displaying.

“It's nothing,” he said and turned to look back in front. “Everything seems to be fine.”

“Okay.”

He felt the other leave and turned to look at his retreating back. He decided then to keep a close eye on the blond. Hopefully the way his chakra flowed was because of exhaustion.

He really hoped it was just that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The book about dreams is something taken from a site called Dream Moods.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto was wandering around Suna. He had no destination in mind as he strolled down the sandy streets. The sky was clear of any clouds and sun pleasantly warm. It was one of these rare days when he felt good. His mood matching the weather perfectly for once.

“Naruto?”

The blond turned around, wondering who had called him. He smiled when his eyes landed on Temari.

“Hello Temari,” he said in a way of greeting.

She returned his smile with one of her own. “What brings you to Suna?”

“Mission,” he replied. “Some merchants needed an escort and we volunteered to do the job.”

She nodded and a silence settled between them until Temari found something to say. “How long will you be staying?”

“A few hours at the most,” said the blond with a light shrug.

She nodded. “I'm going to the Kazekage's office to deliver some papers. Want to come along?”

He smiled. “Alright.”

The walk to the building was rather short. It wasn't long until the pair was standing by the door leading to the office of the Kazekage. Temari knocked twice on the door and waited for a call inside before she swung it open.

Naruto walked in after Temari and closed the door behind him before facing the front.

Gaara was leaning over a piece of paper, holding a pen in his hand as he scribbled away. His desk was full with mountains of paperwork, but he didn't seem to mind much unlike Tsunade. She would constantly moan and groan about all the work.

The redhead had yet to look up from the paper he was still writing on so Naruto decided to break the silence. “Working hard, I see.”

The hand holding the pen stopped and Gaara looked up in surprise.

“Naruto...”

“Yo.” The blond decided to no longer linger by the door now that the other knew he was there as he made his way to the desk. “How are you doing?”

The redhead didn't answer at first, but eventually did. “I'm fine. How are you?”

“Right now? Great. Lately? Not so well.”

Gaara had turned back to the paper for a moment, but had to look back up again at the other's words. He put the pen down and gave his friend his full attention. “What's wrong?”

Naruto hesitated but eventually started on explaining what had happened these past few days. From the dreams to how he's been feeling lately.

It took him almost half an hour to get it all out. A silence fell between the two – Temari having left before he started. The blond waited and waited for a reaction but when none came after several minutes of silence he turned to face his friend.

Gaara was looking ahead with an expression of thoughtfulness. His arms were resting on the desk and fingers playing with the pen.

“How long have you been feeling tired?” he eventually asked.

Naruto shrugged. “A few weeks at most.”

“And it's only when using chakra?”

“Pretty much.”

The redhead was silent once more. Then he said, “I don't know what it could be, but I think you should go to the hospital.”

The blond nodded.

“As for the dreams... I think Kurama is right. Don't think too much about what they mean or anything like that. Dreams are unpredictable. While they may show you your death it doesn't necessarily mean that something bad is going to happen.”

“Right.” Naruto knew that deep down it was true, but he couldn't shake the constant bad feeling swirling around in his gut whenever the image of that nightmare emerged. “I'll try to not think about it, but I can't promise anything.”

“That's fine by me.”

They didn't talk much after that. Just a few exchanged words of other things that's been happening in their lives. Eventually, it was time for Naruto to leave with the promise that he would write Gaara when he had any spare time.

* * *

“Naruto.”

The blond halted at the call of his name. He turned around to look at Neji questioningly. He wondered what the brunet could possibly want when he noticed the grave expression plastered on his face.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“I hope not, but I think that there might be something wrong.”

Naruto looked at the other, prompting him with his eyes for an answer.

“Your chakra is not flowing as it should.”

That caught him a bit off guard. Not flowing as it should? What did that mean?

“What do you mean?” he asked after a moment.

“I mean that your chakra seemed to have slowed down. It used to run throughout your body like a wild stream, but now it seems like it has almost stopped,” explained the brunet.

The blond seemed shocked at the other's words. His chakra had slowed down? What does that indicate?

Before he could ask a voice interrupted him.

“ _ **Now that he mentions it, the flow of your chakra has been slowing down.”**_

_'Kurama?'_

“ _ **I think it's time to seek help. This sort of thing is beyond me.”**_

The blond nodded mentally, thinking that seemed like the most solid idea now. He then turned back to Neji and told him he would go to Konoha hospital as soon as they got back.

* * *

Naruto was walking around the village with heavy steps and an even heavier feeling that had settled down in his stomach. The nice weather that had once suited his mood was now way too bright. He was in a stage of shock, still not quite believing what he'd been told earlier.

The words: _'It can't be true. It just can't...'_ kept on playing in his mind.

The healer's words came back to him as a reminder that he hadn't heard it wrong though. That what he'd heard was the truth.

“ _Your chakra appears to be fading away from your body. Where it goes I don't know, but I believe that this is the sign of the exhaustion you've been feeling. Your chakra can't seem to recover as it should because of this thing that is decreasing it and so your body is getting weaker.”_

“ _Okay.”_

“ _Do you remember getting injured before this started happening?”_

_Naruto thought back until his mind conjured up an image of his arm getting cut. “I injured my arm on a mission. ”_

“ _Did you check if it was infected with any poison?”_

_He shook his head. “No. My teammate just healed it.”_

“ _I was afraid of that.”_

“ _Why?” he asked, not liking her tone or the way her eyes was looking at him. “What's wrong? What's happening to me? What should I do?”_

“ _Honestly? I'm not certain on what you should do since you said earlier that it didn't matter whenever you're using your chakra or not, you still feel tired. My suggestion would be to come here for a checkup once a week to see if it has decreased anymore and not to overdo it during training. Let's hope that this is just a phase of something and your chakra will recover soon.”_

“ _And if it doesn't?” he asked despite the fact that he had a really bad feeling about the answer._

“ _If the decreasing continues... then your life may be at a high risk.”_

“ _So...” Naruto started as he thought about it, the bad feeling in his gut increasing tenfold. “What you're telling me is that if my chakra doesn't recover. Then I'm...”_

“ _Yes, you're-”_

“Dying.”

The word was spoken in such a hollowed voice that the blond barely felt his lips move. He could not register as his body led him back to his apartment. He didn't feel anything as he shed his clothes and went to bed. He opened the window but barely even felt as the cool air hit his warm skin.

He couldn't believe that he was dying, but then, he had never expected any of this. Just like he'd never expected _him_ to leave.

“Speaking of which...” the blond mumbled and looked up to the dark sky. His eyes travelled from star to star as he spoke his thought out loud, “Where are you Sasuke?”

The raven almost always crossed the other's mind when he was alone. Why wouldn't he? He was the sole purpose why the blond was still alive and trying to get stronger.

“Get stronger huh,” he thought out loud and then before he could stop himself let out a hollow laugh.

Once he'd calmed down he lied down on the bed with an arm swung across his face. This was ridiculous. He was ridiculous. All his dreams and hopes for the future had all been shattered in a single moment.

Death suddenly felt much closer now as he thought about what he would never get to see again or feel again once he had passed away.

He'd never get to smell or taste the ramen at Ichiraku. He'd never get to smell the flowers being sold at Yamanaka's. He'd never get to feel the wind rush by his ears as he runs.

And his friends... he would never get to see them again either.

And on that last thought, Naruto couldn't help but let out a sob as tears began to run down his cheeks.

That night he cried himself to sleep with Kurama watching over him with sad eyes. Thankfully that night, no nightmares came. Instead the blonde's dreams consisted of him being surrounded by all his friends, with the sweet smell of flowers flowing into his nostrils.

* * *

The upcoming weeks had been both exhausting and a pain to say the least.

The second time the blond had gone to the hospital for a checkup Tsunade had been called in to take a look at him. She had detected what had caused the decreasing of his chakra but seemed unable to help him. She gave much the same advice as the healer. Take it easy and use as little chakra as possible.

Naruto had quickly decided on to not go on anymore missions that would strain himself too much. A few people had been told of his new condition, including Kakashi and Yamato. Whenever to tell more people of his condition was his choice alone and he'd decided not to tell anyone about it yet. Not wanting to cause any unnecessary sadness.

Neji already knew more than enough and Hinata as well because of the Byakugan. The others like Sai and Sakura detected that something was wrong, but did not know exactly what.

They even tried to confront him a couple of times, but it always ended up badly and it sometimes went so bad that Naruto started to avoid them.

On the third week an idea had struck him like a lightning bolt. It was a stupid idea, probably the most idiotic one he'd ever had. But it didn't matter, since to him it sounded like a good one, maybe even great.

The idea was to go after the Akatsuki and try to kill one of them. He was going to die anyway so he might as well take one of the members with him.

On the fourth week he decided to leave. He had everything already packed and ready. The note he'd written to the Hokage as well as an apology to his friends and teachers lay on the table where he usually sits to eat ramen. He picked up his headband, but decided in the end not to wear it as he put it down on the table as well. Lastly he went to get the headband that a certain friend used to wear and put it in his pocket before pulling the hood up so that it covered his whole head and part of his face.

With one last look around his apartment he went out, on his way out of the village.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Somewhere in the distance Uchiha Sasuke was wandering around in a forest. His breathing was steady and gaze even more so. Every step he took on the narrow path held a purpose. A purpose to find something, or somewhere to be.

It had been a little over a month since the fight between him and his older brother. After he had killed the man he despised the most, he’d felt lost. With his revenge fulfilled he didn’t know what to do or where to go.

He had contemplated going back to Konoha, but had dismissed the thought almost immediately. Even if he was somehow forgiven for his betrayal by the Hokage, he wasn’t sure if he could do so himself. He had hurt a lot of people after all, in more ways than one.

All of a sudden a figure came into view. They were dressed in a dark cloak, covering the person's body and the hood most of their face as they kept their head lowered. The person seemed to be struggling to walk, not that it was any of his concern. He passed the person, but didn't get further than a couple of feet as a familiar voice reached his ears.

“I fucking got it. Now shut up!”

His whole body went rigid. He knew that voice, he was certain of it, but there was no way in hell that the person it belonged to could be-

“I said I got it! Would you please be quiet? I really don't need your comments no matter how logical they may sound.”

Actually, there might be a possibility that they could be here. But why? Sasuke turned around and looked to where the cloaked person was leaning against a tree. He took a few steps forward and pulled his own hood back to reveal his face to the back of the other.

He stopped a meter or so away from the cloaked person before he said, “Naruto?”

The raven-haired boy watched the back of the other stiffen as they slowly turned around. Wide blue eyes locked onto black.

“Oh, you got to be kidding me.”

Before Sasuke could respond, the other dropped to the ground. He stood there and stared for a moment as if trying to process what just happened before he began to react.

He walked towards the fallen figure and crouched down before he reached over to pull back the hood covering the other's face. Familiar spiky golden-blond hair was revealed to the raven along with the tan skin and marked cheeks. So, he'd been right. But...

“Why are you here?” he thought out loud.

It really made no sense to him. Why would Naruto be out here? Why wasn't he in Konoha? Was he on a mission? But then, where are his teammates? And the absent of his headband didn't bring any answers, only more questions. Did he leave the village? But why?

Well, he wasn't going to get any of his questions answered until the blond woke up.

And so, the young Uchiha picked up his former teammate with ease which surprised him. He was way too light than what he should've been. Putting the thought about weight aside he carried him away from the path to the trees, thinking it should be best to take this somewhere a bit more private.

He set the blond down once he could no longer see the pathway. He took off his own cloak and folded it before placing it under the other's head. Now all he could do was sit and wait for the other to wake up.

…

A blood curling scream woke Sasuke up. He sprang up to his feet and unsheathed his sword as his eyes turned crimson. He scanned the place for any danger, but then heard the panting of the only other person there.

Naruto was sitting straight up with one hand tangled in his hair while the other was gripping the cloak he wore. He noticed a sheen of sweat going down the other's forehead and figured that perhaps he'd made the noise.

“What the hell happened?”

Sasuke sheathed Kusanagi as his eyes went back to its usual black color. He was about to answer when the blond spoke once again, making the confusion of the raven increase.

“I'm well aware I fainted. Thanks for the info. What I would like to know is how I got _here_ , because I'm pretty sure this is not the same place where I blacked out.”

Not only was the blond confusing but he seemed delusional as well. Who the hell was he talking to?

Then Naruto turned and looked up in his direction. Their eyes met and a long silence settled over. Until...

“Kurama pinch me now, I think I'm still asleep. Ouch!” The blond rubbed his side and looked back up a moment later. “You're still here?”

More confusion bubbled up as the raven watched the blond as if he'd lost it. Which it more or less seemed like he had.

“I think I'm further gone than I realize,” he mumbled and stood up. “Look, if you're gonna kill me like in all my other dreams why not just go ahead. Save me some time.”

Sasuke didn't know how to react to that so he just ended up asking, “What?”

“Oh look, he spoke,” said Naruto in mock surprise. “Well, that's something new instead of the blank look you keep on giving me before finishing me off.”

The young Uchiha had honestly no idea what the other was babbling about. The blond apparently had dreams involving him that much he gathered. But him killing Naruto? He couldn't see himself doing that.

Now, he might've been close in doing so in the past along with saying something along those lines. But, that was the past. He'd had a lot to think about since he defeated Itachi and one of those things had been of the blond. He had realized he never really wanted to hurt Naruto, much less kill him. He'd just been so messed up and all of his hatred and hunger for power had temporally blinded him.

His vision hadn't cleared up until the source of his hatred had been destroyed. That's when he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he could finally think for a moment.

Leaving Team Hebi had only been the start. He had then just wandered around different places to see where it might take him, and weeks later that's what brought him here. And here he had met Naruto again, his former rival, teammate, and friend.

But the reunion was nothing like he'd expected. Instead of throwing a fit or being overjoyed to see him, the blond had instead began to talk to an invisible force and treat him like he wasn't more than just a figment of his imagination.

_'Well,'_   thought Sasuke with a smirk.  _'_ _I'll just prove him wrong then.'_

When the raven looked up again the blond was looking straight at him, with his arms crossed over his chest.

A sigh then suddenly escaped Naruto's lips. “Well, if you aren't going to do anything then I'm leaving,” he said and turned to walk away.

“What makes you think you're dreaming?” Sasuke asked quickly, before the other could take another step.

The blond didn't turn around to face him, but answered the question nonetheless. “Because there's no way in hell you would be standing before me. I'm either hallucinating or dreaming, that's the only explanation there is.”

Sasuke frowned at that and then took a few steps towards the other. “What if you're not?” he asked and watched the back of the blond stiffen. “What if I'm really here?”

“...ut...up...”

“What if your mind is not playing tricks on you and I'm actually standing right here?”

“Shut up...”

“What if-”

“SHUT UP!” roared Naruto, covering his ears as he began to yell. “LEAVE ME ALONE! I don't need your empty words! I don't need false hope! You left and you aren't coming back! I get that now! So just go!”

Sasuke was stunned into silence. He had known that the other was hurting, but for him to display such emotion he hadn't expected. He was at a loss on what to say, but shortly snapped out of it. “Naruto...” he began to say, but was interrupted.

“I told you to go away!” yelled Naruto and turned around. Tear-filled blue eyes came to look straight at him, pleadingly. “Please... just go,” he said softly, almost tiredly as he glanced away, closing his eyes as he tried to hold back the tears.

The raven didn't move away though. If anything, he moved forward.

“Naruto,” he tried again, but like last time he got a negative response.

“Go away!”

“Naruto. You need to-”

“Shut up!”

“-calm down. You-”

“Leave!”

“-don't know what-”

“Go!”

“-you're doing.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up...”

Naruto was getting panic-stricken and Sasuke was getting pissed off.

“Naru-”

“SHUT UP!”

That was the last straw. In just a few strides the raven was right in front of the other and didn't hesitate as he punched him square in the jaw. The blond tumbled backwards from the impact and slowly brought a hand up to the right side of his cheek. He looked to be in great shock as he slowly lifted his head up to look at the raven.

“It hurts doesn't it?” asked Sasuke. “Now, if I'm just a figment of your imagination. Then tell me, why does it hurt?”

Naruto had no answers to that. He just continued to stare.

The raven walked up and crouched down in front of the other. He reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. “You're not dreaming or hallucinating. I'm really here.”

The blond seemed to slowly snap out of whatever trance he'd been in. He went to touch the other, to feel the solidness and warmth of him.

His face broke into a relieved-looking smile. “Sasuke...”

Said raven nodded. “It's me.”

“You're really here?”

“Yes.”

And without further encouragement the blond went to hug the other. He buried his face deep within the raven's shoulder and shortly began to cry. He didn't care whenever this was a dream anymore. He just wanted to wrap his arms around the other and never let go.

Sasuke just sat there and let the other cry. He didn't mind at all.

The warm reunion was cut short though when the raven heard something.

“Naruto, I think someone is coming.”

The blond had immediately pulled away and got up before the raven. The two quickly moved to hide before whoever it was came. Sasuke quickly grabbed his cloak that he'd folded earlier as they moved.

They stopped only a couple of meters away behind a large tree.

Sasuke stood with his back against the trunk with Naruto pressed up against him. It didn't bother the raven as much as it bothered the blond to be so close to each other. He turned to listen for anything and could hear the footsteps of people along with voices.

“That's strange... I could swear I heard something,” one of them said.

“Maybe it was just your imagination,” another said.

“Maybe...” the first one said and trailed off. “Let's not linger here. We need to continue searching.”

“Yeah,” agreed the other. “We need to find that Uzumaki kid before something bad happens.”

The other agreed and with that both of them shortly left.

Sasuke didn't move from his spot until he couldn't hear them anymore. When he felt that they were gone only then did he turn to Naruto.

“Why are they looking for you?” he asked quietly.

The blond glanced away, contemplating whenever to answer or not.

The raven tried a different approach then. “Where are you heading?”

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but eventually sighed and said, “I'm going after the Akatsuki.”

“Alone?” asked Sasuke with a raised eyebrow. He received a nod he hadn't expected and decided to just stare at the other. “But that's suicide.”

“I know,” said Naruto.

“You're an idiot, you know that?”

The other laughed softly. “Yeah, I do know that.”

“Why are you going?”

The blond was hesitant in his answer, but eventually said, “My chakra isn't as it used to be. It doesn't flow as it should and when I use it I easily get tired. It's fading away Sasuke. In other words...” he trailed off and took a deep breath before facing the other with a straight face. “I'm dying.”

Sasuke stopped for a moment.

_'What?'_ he thought in bewilderment. _'_ _What did he just say?'_

“Y- You're what?” he finally stuttered out after a moment's of silence.

“I'm dying.”

“Liar.”

The other shook his head. "Sadly, I'm not."

The raven still wasn't convinced and the blond sighed at his stubbornness.

“You can check for yourself. Just use the sharingan.”

Sasuke exactly did that as his eyes turned crimson and he looked at the flow of chakra on the other. Naruto's words seemed to finally hit him because something seemed terribly wrong. His chakra didn't flow as it should just like the other had said.

“How?” he breathed out the question as he looked down at the chakra flow.

“Tsunade-baa-chan said it to be a poison that's meant to drain one's chakra. She's already come up with an antidote for it, but in my case it's already too late. If she had detected it earlier then I could've been saved. Now however, all the antidote can do is slow it down. I will eventually die.”

Sasuke didn't believe what he was hearing, but the blond didn't seem to be lying and the flow of his chakra was slower. There was something though that did not make sense to him.

“Why aren't you fighting this?” To him Naruto should try and fight this. Not look like he's already given up.

“Because I've already accepted it. I knew something was wrong before they said anything. Why fight a battle that I've already lost?”

“So, you're just gonna give up? Just like that?” he asked, still not believing this to be true.

“Just like that,” he said simply. “And that's why I'm going after the Akatsuki. Since I'm going to die anyway I might as well take one of the members down with me.”

Sasuke was silent for a moment. He let the words sink in before making a decision.

“No you're not,” he said sternly, surprising the blond. “You're not going. Not as long as I'm here.”

Naruto was silent the first second. The next though he was laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

Sasuke however, was not amused. “What's so funny?”

It took a while for the other boy to calm down, but once he was and wiping tears of mirth from his eyes did he answer. “No. For a moment you reminded me of myself when we were younger. When I wouldn't let you go to Orochimaru.”

The raven's eyes widened a little at that and a shadow seemed to fall over his face as he remembered. “About that,” he began. This was difficult beyond words, but he needed to get it out and now seemed to be the right time for that.  “I'm sorry Naruto.”

The blond looked up in surprise, not having expected an apology.

“I'm sorry for everything I put you through. I didn't realize what I was doing. All the hate and hunger for power had blinded my vision. Now though, now that the fog has lifted I can see all the mistakes I've made.”

Naruto smiled at the other boy and reached over to make him look at him. “It's alright now Sasuke. I forgive you, and thank you for caring.”

The raven smiled back as he went to take the other's hand. “Let's go back.”

“Alright.”

 


End file.
